


Broken, Beat and Scarred

by GG_and_MM



Series: Come Fly With Me [8]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: BAMF!Cas, BAMF!Gabriel, Dean is Tortured, Demons, Destiel - Freeform, M/M, Mentions of Heaven/Hell War, No Offense to Julie Andrews, Old Magic, Supernatural - Freeform, Violence, explicit - Freeform, mentions of rape/non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 16:34:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 19,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4883911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GG_and_MM/pseuds/GG_and_MM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kat and Dean are kidnapped and tortured by demons in a misguided plot to steal an Archangel's grace.  Gabriel, Castiel, Sam and Molly race to save them before too much damage is done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Katelyn

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: Written by Gabe's Girl, Beta'd by Miss Moose This is the seventh story in the “Come Fly With Me” verse. If you’d like to start from the beginning start with Rebel Diamonds here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/4501938

Katelyn loves riding in the Impala, windows down, music up, Dean driving, just cruising down the road. She's always loved cars; she learned it from her Dad. Classic American muscle cars are her favorite, and the Impala is perfect. Dean never lets her drive but she doesn't care, she's happy to ride along, even if it's just on a supply run to town. Her eyes are closed, soaking up the sun streaming in the window, hair flipping in the wind. 

Dean turns the music down. "So what's going on with you and Gabriel these days?" Dean usually gets right to the point. 

She sits up straighter. "What do you mean?"

"Cas said something about you quitting your job?" Dean glances over, meets her eyes for a second. 

She knew this was coming. She knew Dean would give her shit. She's not going to take it. "Yeah, so?" She looks out the window. 

"So, what's that about?" Dean's going to get an answer. 

She thinks for a minute, puts her thoughts in order -- what she wants to tell him, what she wants to keep to herself.

"We had a long talk. He'd been telling me all along he wanted to help me but I never listened. But after that talk.... he didn't ask me to quit, if that's what you think. He just told me I didn't have to keep going to jobs I hate just to survive. He really wants me to go to school." She stops, waits for Dean's reaction.

He raises his eyebrows, he looks genuinely surprised. "Really? Like college?" 

"Yeah, I just have to figure out what to go for," she says. 

"You should. You work really hard; you should give yourself a break. You always wanted to go back to school." Dean seems surprised by his own answer. 

"Yeah, easier said than done. I can't decide what the Hell to go for." She looks out the window again.

"What are your options?" She didn't expect Dean to be interested, but she didn't expect him to support Gabriel either.

"Uh, well my immediate thought was ancient history, languages, you know, stuff that would help with research on cases and stuff." She looks over to Dean.

He smirks. "Makes sense. So why the hard decision?" 

"Gabriel says I can go to school for the rest of my life if I want, get as many degrees in as many subjects as humanly possible. But now, this _first_ one, he wants it to be something I want. Something I'm really interested in - a passion." She pauses, looks out the windshield. "I never had a passion, never had time for one. Figuring it out now seems like a lost cause." 

"Are you kidding me? I never thought I'd say this Kate, believe me, _never_. But I actually agree with Gabriel on this. You've got passion, you've just always buried it because you had to work, bust your ass to survive. You'll figure it out." Dean smiles sideways at her. "What did you want to do before... you know?" Dean looks back at the road. 

Katelyn's parents and younger brother had died when she was 14, she'd been the only survivor of a car accident. She had no family in a position to take her in. They'd wanted to put her in foster care but she'd hated the idea. She didn't want another family. She'd had a family, she didn't want a fake one. She didn't want sympathy; she didn't want people trying to help her. She'd fought tooth and nail saying she didn't want to go into a foster home, and for whatever reason the state had listened. They put her into a group home. She'd finished out middle school and high school with bad grades and serious anger issues, and immediately started working.

She hated that group home. She'd had no friends, she didn't fit in with anyone, she hated the staff, and she hated _life_ at that time. Her resentment with the world about losing her family was beyond measure. The only thing that had gotten through to her was the Winchesters. They'd shown up posing as new residents, supposedly messed up kids who'd been assigned to the home, but she knew right away something was different about them.

Every girl in the home threw themselves at the brothers, and she'd watched in distaste. She had zero interest in any of it. She'd watched them closely though, they were more detached from the daily life of the home than the typical teenagers who came through. They asked questions, sometimes weird questions, and after following them around and hearing them talk for a couple days she'd convinced herself they were Satan worshippers or something. 

She had followed them into a hallway on the third day and was shocked when they'd vanished. She tiptoed down the hall, peeking in windows, when a door flew open and she was jerked inside, a hand clasped over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"What're you following us for, huh? You been following us all day, you need to tell us what you know. I'm gonna take my hand off your mouth, you scream we're all screwed, got it?" Sam was behind her, holding her, talking into her ear. Dean was in front of her holding a pipe. She nodded. 

She was out of breath, panicked, watching them both. "What the fuck?" she'd said. "You guys worshiping the devil in here or something?" 

The brothers looked at each other, faces confused for a second, and then they'd laughed. And laughed. And laughed. 

"Hell no!" Dean had finally said, catching his breath. "We're hunting a ghost!" 

That's how she'd been introduced to hunting, to the Winchesters, how her friendship with them had been born. They'd kept in contact while she was in the home; they'd kept her going when she wanted to give up. And when she finally left the home she'd helped out on a case here or there when she could. She loved to research with Sam, she loved to learn, but she just never had the time or money to go to school. 

So this opportunity Gabriel had given her had been a little hard to take in, she had trouble comprehending it. She woke up every morning before 5:00, thinking she had to get ready for work. She'd relax when she remembered she didn't have to go back there, and then her mind would immediately start spinning about school. What to go for, where to go, on and on. 

"Before my family died... I was a kid. I mean I was 14, but I was pretty sheltered. I remember going through that stage of wanting to be a vet, I think every kid does that. Then I thought I'd be an artist and move to France and wear berets or something. I think I wanted to be a photographer or a journalist too, report about endangered species or something. I don't know, Dean, none of that seems real now. No, that does seem real, _this_ doesn't seem real. Not having to work, living wherever I want, and finding Gabriel. None of that seems real. It's so weird." 

"Yeah, I see that." Dean thinks for a second, he doesn't seem to know what to say. "My life is always weird. Don't worry about it, you'll figure it out. I'm gonna pull in up here and get gas." Dean nods towards the upcoming gas station. He pulls in and gets out of the car to go in and pay. 

Kat waits in the car. She's lost in thought, thinking over the conversation. She sees Dean out of the corner of her eye, walking back toward the car, up to her door. She glances over just as the door opens, and she realizes it's not Dean standing there, and then a fist connects with her temple and she's out.


	2. Gabriel

Gabriel is standing in a stark white room full of angels. They've broken into groups, all discussing amongst themselves what move should be made next. 

A brother angel to his left yells out over the murmuring crowd. "Heaven should be strong, we should rally together and make a blinding show of our power against Hell. Bring them a reckoning like they've known before. We have to show them that we will not lose this war!" Several in the room raise their voices in support.

A sister on Gabriel's other side says calmly, "We can't blindly enter a battle with no good sense of our enemy or its purpose. That's what we've been doing and far too many angels have been lost. We need to circle together, help humanity as we can until we have a clearer picture of what's happening." 

The sound of discord takes over the room, there's bickering and voices rising all around him. This is what always happens when angels gather together. Heaven can't agree on anything.

 _Ugh_ , he thinks, _this is not why I came out of hiding_.

He reaches toward Kat with his mind. Thank Heaven he has her, otherwise he'd be insane by now. 

_Oh, kitten, I don't know if angels get headaches, but if they do I'll have one by the time this day is over._

Nothing. No laughter from her, no response. Silence. He reaches again, pushing into her mind. 

It's black, he sees no image or thought. _What is happening?_

She was just pulling into a gas station with Dean, he checked on her not even a minute ago, just before his brother started talking about making a powerful stand. 

He looks across the room. 

"Castiel," he says loudly. 

Several angels around him go quiet, but the room is still bustling with heated debate. Cas meets his eyes. 

"Follow me," Gabriel says. Cas strides toward him. Gabriel flies.

He lands beside the Impala. The passenger door is hanging open but Kat isn't in sight. Cas is less than a second behind him. 

"Where's Dean?" Gabriel asks immediately. He didn't want any attention brought to this conversation in a room full of angels. He doesn't know what's happening yet, he doesn't need the peanut gallery debating it out while he's trying to think.

Cas is quiet, obviously searching with his mind. 

"When was the last time you had contact with him?" Gabriel asks. 

"We spoke this morning," Cas says. 

"When was the last time you reached out to him with your mind?" 

Cas looks into the gas station. "I don't do that, it makes him uncomfortable." He strides toward the door and Gabriel follows, shaking his head. 

"I'm not going to lecture you on the stupidity of this _again_ because we don't have time, we'll save that discussion for later. Kat was with Dean in the Impala, the wind in her hair, and then I saw them pull in here no more than two minutes ago. Dean got out to pay for gas, I saw that clearly, and now she's gone."

They survey the gas station. It appears empty. Cas wanders around the register and kneels down. "The attendant is dead." 

Gabriel feels a cold fear crawl over him. 

"I don't care if Dean is _uncomfortable_ , reach for him. Now. Where is Dean, Castiel!" The last sentence isn't a question, it's an order. 

Cas stands up from behind the counter and looks to Gabriel. 

"I don't know. There's nothing. I just get... dark. Not like sleep, this is different." 

Gabriel nods. "That's what I get from Kat too." 

Cas wipes his finger in a line of sulphur on the counter. He sniffs it. 

"Demons," Gabriel says, "fucking hell. It's probably not a good idea to storm the gates of Hell right now but the urge is really strong." 

He looks at Cas. "Give me options before I panic." He's already panicking but he's not going to show that. He can see tight lines drawn around Cas' eyes. He's realizing the danger of this situation, if Gabriel panics Cas will be right on his heels. 

_Stay calm. Think. We need a plan._

"We need to get as many angels searching as we can," Cas says, "I'll tell Sam." 

"Is that a good idea? There's nothing he can do right now. I don't even know what to do right now." 

_This helplessness, is this how humans feel all the time?_

"He would want to know." Cas pushes his hands in his pockets and flies. 

Gabriel reaches toward his most trusted brothers and sisters in Heaven on "angel radio" as the Winchesters call it. He won't go to Heaven now, this short communication will suffice. He wants to follow Cas. He feels a stronger kinship with Cas than any other angel, especially now that their mates are missing. 

_Brothers and sisters, my Kat and Dean Winchester are missing. They've been taken by demons. Castiel and I can't locate any sign of them. I'm trusting you to aid us in our search. If you see any sign of their locations notify me immediately, do not go in alone or without my knowledge._

He follows Cas to the bunker. Cas in the kitchen. Sam is standing by the sink and Molly is at the stove. 

"What do you mean missing, missing since when? They just left twenty minutes ago," Sam is saying. 

"The Impala is abandoned at a gas station, the attendant is dead. It was demons," Cas states very frankly.

"What the hell? Why?" Sam puts down the towel he was using to dry dishes. 

Molly moves to his side and slips her arm through his. 

"Bait, maybe collateral," she says. 

Sam nods, he knows she's right. Gabriel knows it too. 

"Why can't you just do that mind stuff and find them? You do that all the time?" Sam is looking at Gabriel. 

"I tried, something is wrong," Gabriel answers.

Panic flashes across Sam's face. "Wrong like dead?" 

"No, we'd be notified immediately if their souls reached Heaven," Cas tries to reassure Sam. 

Gabriel isn't thinking very clearly, he's having trouble focusing on the conversation. He keeps constantly pushing his mind toward Kat out of habit and fear, each time he does the emptiness amps up his anxiety. 

Cas goes on, "This is more like they just don't exist." Cas' mouth tightens, he's holding on by a thread, just like Gabriel. 

"Sam," Molly says softly, "his eyes..." 

"Hey," Sam's voice is raised, it cuts over Gabriel's thoughts, "keep it together, don't get all glowy eyed. We'll figure this out." 

Gabriel looks at Sam. He nods and makes a conscious effort to calm himself. 

"Come on," Sam says, walking out of the room. 

"Where are we going?" Cas asks as he and Gabriel follow. 

"To work," Sam calls over his shoulder.


	3. Katelyn

Kat's head is pounding. POUNDING. She's never had a headache like this in her life. She keeps her eyes closed, tries to remember what happened. Something is in her mouth. It tastes nasty. _What is that?_ She moves her tongue and gags. It's a rag. She tries to push it out of her mouth and can't, there's duct tape holding her mouth shut. She gags again. _Oh god, she can't throw up with this thing in her mouth._

She tries to calm down, tries to breathe. Her stomach settles a little. She opens her eyes. Well, one eye opens but the other one is swollen shut. She tries to focus but the lighting sucks and her vision is blurry. She blinks, tries to clear it. She looks around a bit -- still blurry, but better. She probably has a concussion. She's in a wooden chair. Her legs are tied together and her hands are tied down at her sides. If her hands were tied together she could work on getting them loose, but they're straight down at her sides. And she's tied _tight_. Her feet and hands are already starting to tingle. 

How long has she been unconscious? It's still daylight out, there's light coming in through a disgusting window. It's so dirty she can barely see through it, and she can't make anything out. Is it even the same day? Where is she? Where's Dean? She immediately prays.

_Gabriel? Gabe, can you hear me? I don't know where I am. Someone took me, maybe Dean too. I'm tied up. Find us. Hurry._

She hears a scuttling sound behind her. Oh God, not rats. Please don't let it be rats. She hears soft footfalls, nails scraping on the filthy floor, a low growl. _What the hell is that?_

Something huffs, smells her hair, growls lower. It walks beside her, rubs her arm, but it's on the side of her swollen eye and she can't see it. She's afraid to move, her breathing rapid and shallow. She feels it brush against her knee. She should be able to see it; it should be right in front of her. She feels hot breath on her face, she smells it and it's foul. The growl is louder now. It's right there. She can't breathe. She's done enough research on Hell and it's creatures to know what this is.

 _Gabriel, there's a Hellhound in here. GABRIEL, do you hear me?! A fucking Hellhound! Now Gabe, come on!_

The hound snarls in her face and she sobs, the sound makes it furious. Its barking, she feels its chest press in against her knees. Tears slide down her cheeks. She has to calm down. This is not how she wants to die. She just has to wait another minute or two and Gabriel will be here. She feels drool hit her leg, burning hot. She glances down with her good eye, she can see the spot on her jeans, but she can't see the hound. 

The door across from her swings open and a man walks in. "Dog!" he yells. 

She feels the weight on her knees retreat, she hears the animal whine. Its footsteps move back to the corner and it makes a very canine "humpf" sound as she imagines it sliding to the floor. 

She stares at the man with one good eye. 

_Gabriel, there's a man here. He's tall, wearing a dirty orange sweatshirt, jeans, boots, a Pabst Blue Ribbon hat._

The man blinks, his eyes turn black. The dog growls. "You prayin' girl?" he drawls.

_He's a demon, Gabe._

She stares. Doesn't move, barely breathes. 

"I asked you a question, you prayin' to your angel? Huh?" 

He blinks again, eyes clearing. He laughs, a nasty, hateful sound. "Silly ole' me, you got yer mouth full ain'tcha? You won't be doin' much talkin' with that ole rag in yer mouth." He smiles and his teeth are disgusting. This demon picked the nastiest man he could possibly find to possess. 

"That's alright; I never was one fer conversation. I just do and say what I please and then go on about my business." 

Kat wonders if the demon itself is southern or if he's just adopted the meat suit's southern drawl. 

_His accent is southern U.S., I don't know if that means anything, Gabe._

The hound growls. 

"Yeah, yer prayin'. Keep it up, he can't hear you, no way. The dog knows it though, and she ain't gonna like it much." He spits, then walks up and leans down into her face. 

Kat squeezes her eyes closed, her swollen eye hurts, but she doesn't care. How does a Hellhound even know that she's praying? Can they do that? She doesn't remember reading that in any of her research.

"You pray all you want, just gonna piss the dog off, it's like fingernails on a chalkboard to her. You know souls pray in Hell too? Oh yeah, them sinners, they're burnin', bein' ripped to shreds, the whole time they're prayin. _"Please save me, I repent fer my sins_ ," they pray and pray, and the hounds eat 'em alive, over and over. Each day it starts again," the demon laughs, "so you keep prayin' That angel a yers won't be answerin'. Not 'til we're ready anyway. Gotta make sure there's a nice surprise waitin' on 'em, don't we now? He thinks he's big shit, we don't wanna let down such an _important_ guy." His breath is worse than the hound's.

_Gabe, it's a trap. They're planning something big._

The dog snarls. 

"Pray pray pray, you go right on ahead, missy. He ain't a-comin'. You're the bait though, when it's time. And then we'll let the dog have ya. Nice surprise, catchin' that hunter too. He's been fun to play with." He stands up again, spits on the floor beside her.

_They have Dean._

The dog barks. 

The demon laughs. "Stupid bitch. Yer lucky we need you fer bait. You'd already be dead otherwise. Or maybe we'd just have some fun with ya." He winks at her, turns and walks out of the room, shutting the door.

Shit. _Shit_. How is she getting out of this? If Gabriel can't hear her then why does the demon keep telling her to pray? But then again, if Gabriel _can_ hear her why isn't he here by now? 

Should she keep praying? Will the hound really hurt her if she's the bait?

Her hands and feet are moving past tingling and into pins and needles-like pain. She tries to move them but the knots are too tight. There's not even a centimeter of give. She looks around the room for anything. Except for dirt and stains, there's nothing. If she turns her head far enough she can see dirt stir on the floor where the hound is breathing. 

She waits. She has no idea how long. She hears a yell, she thinks it's Dean. She doesn't want to think about it being Dean. She cries. She gets pissed. It goes dark outside the window. Her hands and feet are cold, painful. The room is black. The hound's breathing sounds slow, even.

_Gabriel, it's dark outside the window. My hands and feet hurt, they're tied too tight. The hound is asleep. If I pray to you when it's awake it gets pissed. The demon says they're planning something big. I think I heard Dean yell, they're torturing him. Please be careful._

Should she try praying to Cas? She's never prayed to him before, she doesn't have the ease of communicating with him like she does Gabriel, but she feels like it's worth a shot.

 _Cas, can you hear me?_ She opens her mind, she's never done anything like this before. _Can any angel out there hear me? This is Kate, I need to reach Gabriel. Anyone?_

The hound growls and moves. Kat quiets her mind, concentrates on her breathing. She's thirsty. Her jaw hurts -- the rag pushes it open too wide and her lips are sealed under the duct tape. It's so uncomfortable. She hears people standing outside the room, but no one opens the door. 

She dozes, sleeps fitfully.


	4. Dean

Dean pulls on his restraints again, feeling his skin rub into a burn against the leather holding him down. He pulls so hard he grunts, not meaning to. He can't see anything, he's blindfolded. He can't move an inch. He's flat on his back; he can feel the edges of a table if he spreads his fingers. His arms are strapped at the elbow and the wrist; his legs are strapped at the thigh and the ankle. 

He pulls again. 

_Motherfuckers!_ he thinks. _Fucking demon slime_. He wishes he could see. He can smell sulphur, and other nasty things. Obviously, housekeeping is not their forte. 

The last thing he remembers he is pulling his wallet out as he walked through the door of the gas station, and then someone clocked him on the back of the head and he woke up here about fifteen minutes ago, if he's judging time right. Which he's probably not.

_Where's Kate? Is she okay?_

He can only assume they have her too, unless she saw what was happening and got a prayer off to Gabriel. 

_God, if you're there please let Kate be okay_. He never prays anymore, not even to Cas, but this feels like the perfect time for it.

He pulls again, grunting. He'll either break these straps or he'll break his arm, one or the other. 

He hears a laugh to his left, a woman. 

"Sure is sexy how your arms bulge, _hunter_ , it would such be a shame for you to hurt yourself. You are a fine specimen." Dean catches a slight British accent when she speaks. 

Dean stops moving and smiles. "You think that's sexy? You should see what else I got," he mocks her. 

"Oh, I plan on it. You keep talking though, I like that pretty mouth. All those perfect teeth, I'm going see that mouth scream in agony by time we're all done. I'm looking forward to it." She moves behind him, he follows her voice to the back of his head. 

"Oh yeah? Why don't you take this blindfold off, let me see who I'm talkin' to," Dean says, "I always hear I got pretty eyes." 

She laughs. "Oh no, no way. I've got plans for you. Big plans. You know what they say about losing one sense makes the others get stronger? You'll keep that blindfold on and we'll see how much stronger you feel pain; it sounds fun, doesn't it? We're going have a wonderful time." 

She moves around to his right side. He feels her finger on his bottom lip and he jerks his head to the side. She drags her finger down his chest, over his stomach, and she grips his balls in her palm and clenches them. 

Dean fights the twisting in his gut, a wave of nausea rolling over him. He holds his breath until she pulls her hand away and then he gasps for air. He wants to close his legs but the restraints won't let him. 

"See? We're having fun already, so much fun!" She laughs softly. Her voice is pretty, almost lyrical, and with the accent it reminds him of Julie Andrews.

He gulps air, pulling as hard as he can with his arms and legs. He screams with the effort, raging against the restraint.

She's down by his feet now, untying his boots, laughing at him. 

"Well, that's a good start. I do love the sound of that." She gently slips off his boot. "Are you praying yet, love?" she asks.

He still can't breathe well, his lower gut aches. 

"No," he says. 

"Why not? Your girlfriend is praying up a storm down the hall." She pulls his other boot off; he hears it thud to the floor.

_Shit!_

"She's not your girlfriend though, is she? No, you've got yourself a boyfriend. An _angel_ boyfriend. MmHmm, I know. We _all_ know. Shame you switching teams like that, such a loss for the ladies."

She's moving back up his left side and traces her fingernails up his forearm.

"Who knows though, maybe you still go both ways. Maybe you're all in one big kinky angel-human orgy every night, huh? I'd like to be a fly on the wall for that. You've got a pretty angel too, don't you, dear?" 

He doesn't want to hear Julie Andrews talking about orgies.

She's by his shoulder now, leaning down. Her voice is closer to his ear. He hears someone enter the room. Dean listens closely.

"Uh huh, I know the one. You like those pretty blue eyes of his? He's not as powerful as hers, she bagged herself an archangel, but you sure got the best looking one of the bunch. I bet he's got a big dick too. Does he?" 

She's leaned in by his face; he can feel her breath by his mouth. He could turn away if he wanted but he holds very still. 

"Oh, come on, love, you can tell me. I won't tell a _soul_. Do you top or bottom, hmm? Oh I bet you're a total cock slut for that angel. You scream his name with his big cock up your ass? Huh? I'm going to make you scream his name, you'll beg that angel to come save you, just wait and see." 

Dean resolves that he will not pray to Cas, he will not give Julie Andrews the satisfaction of hearing him say Cas' name. And he's never watching The Sound of Music again. Ever. 

Her breath is on his mouth now; she's going to kiss him. He opens his mouth just as her lips touch him and he bites onto her bottom lip. He tastes her blood as she wrenches away, screaming. The demon who entered the room is a man, Dean can hear him laughing. 

"He gotcha good!" The male demon wheezes.

"Shut up!" She spits. "You're going to pay for that," she says, spitting again, "I think it's time we get out the toys."


	5. Katelyn

Kat wakes to a woman screaming somewhere close, a man laughing. Horrible sounds. The hound stands and walks around her, lies down by her feet. There's a tiny sliver of moonlight coming in through a hole in the window. It seems to show the faint outline of the hounds massive back. She has to be imagining that. 

The door opens again, this time it's a woman. Fried blonde hair with an inch of black roots, covered in sores on her face and lips. She looks like a meth addict. Black eyes flash, the stain of a demon. Man, these demons pick some _nasty_ meat suits. 

"You still livin'? Dog ain't ate you yet?" She sounds southern too. "She's prolly gettin' hungry, you won't last much longer. S'okay though, we're almost ready for your boyfriend," she says. She smiles, her mouth a gaping hole with no teeth, then she turns and walks out. 

Why are they bothering to talk to her at all? Kat wonders. Just to scare her? Make her pray? That makes sense. They want her to pray, and they know when she does because of the hound. It's what they want. She's determined not to pray now. 

She closes her eyes. She doesn't even want to think. She doesn't want anything calling out to Gabriel, no thoughts, no emotions. She tries to settle down. Her hands and feet are numb, which should be better than pain, but it's not. Now she just thinks she's going to lose them. 

She tries to relax, her arms and hips hurt. She needs to move, stretch. She wants water. She sighs, drops her head to her chest. The hound rolls, its back pushing against her shins like a weight. It's hot. It feels like it's burning her. 

She dozes again.


	6. Gabriel

It's been nine hours since Gabriel heard Kat's first prayer. It had been so soft he thought he was imagining it at first. For a few seconds he thought that he'd wished for it so much that he was hearing things. And then she said his name again. 

_"Gabe, can you hear me? I don't know where I am. Someone took me, maybe Dean too. I'm tied up. Find us. Hurry."_

It didn't sound right; it was distorted, like it had interference running over it. A bad connection. He couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It bounced like it was coming from five places at once.

He'd knocked his chair over, he'd stood up so fast. 

"She's praying," he whispered, his eyes wide. He looked at Cas and Molly and Sam. "I hear her!" 

"Where is she?" Cas immediately asked.

Gabriel tried to focus, he listened again. What she said next was terrifying. _SHIT._

"I don't know, she says there's a Hellhound, we have to get to her NOW." He frantically looked at Cas.

"A Hellhound?!" Molly had yelled.

"It's okay, stay calm, focus," Cas said. "Listen, close your eyes and _listen_." 

Gabriel did, but it didn't help. No matter what he tried it didn't help. 

Shortly after, Cas had gone very stiff. He glanced at Gabriel and turned away from Sam and Molly. Gabriel knew that whatever was happening, Cas didn't want them knowing about. He spoke to Cas privately, with his mind. 

_"Is Dean praying? What's wrong?"_

_"No, but he's awake, and he's in pain."_

_"Can you locate him?"_

Cas had shaken his head no.

Something is wrong, it's like Kat and Dean are at the bottom of a well halfway through the earth and the angels can barely hear them. The only problem is that even if they _are_ halfway through the earth the angel's should hear them just fine. Location and surroundings don't interfere with prayer. Even if they're in Hell, Kat's prayers would be heard clearly, he'd be able to pinpoint her location in less than a second. Cas would still feel Dean's pain through their bond no matter where Dean is, he should be able to move to Dean immediately. It makes no sense that they can't, and they're going crazy.

Gabriel sits in the library of the bunker, his head in his hands. Cas is across the room, leaned against the books, looking away from them all. Sam and Molly are pouring over maps. 

"You can't give us _anything_ besides "southern?" That's way too big of an area." Sam moves to another map. 

"For the last time, she said _southern_. That's all. If I have to repeat myself again it won't be pretty," Gabriel says to the floor. 

Sam sighs. "I know, I'm sorry. I don't know what to do here." 

"I know you don't, Sam, I know you're trying to help, but the prayers are echoing and bouncing around. It's like they are hitting walls, she said southern but I'd swear they were coming from Canada." Gabriel sits back and sighs. 

"So should we look north?" Molly asks. 

Gabriel shakes his head. "No, she's smart, if she says southern, it's southern." 

Where are these demons coming from with this? There has to be a _reason_ they want Kat and Dean, but there's no indication. And there's been no attempt at communication, no demands, nothing. It would be incredibly stupid for demons to kill the mate of an angel for no reason, and killing an archangel's mate would be next-level stupid. 

Gabriel thinks of Kat stuck in a room with a Hellhound, scared to death. His power vibrates.

"Gabe," Sam says. 

Gabriel looks at him. Sam doesn't say anything. His eyes are probably glowing again. It makes the humans all nervous when that happens. Except Kat. She doesn't get nervous. The only person he needs right now, the only person who could calm him down, and she's missing. 

_So help me, Father, if they kill her I will go to Heaven with her and never leave. Mark my words._

He still hasn't stopped reaching toward her mind. He's done it so much without thinking that he can't stop – it would be like telling a human not to breathe. Every time he reaches, it comes back empty. Even when she was praying, he could feel her pushing out but he couldn't push back. 

And she'd prayed to Cas, to _every angel out there_. He's failing her. He has to find her. 

"Gabe," Sam says again. 

Gabriel had been staring at Sam the whole time but not seeing him. He nods. 

Cas moves, Gabriel looks over. Cas is leaned down, his hands on his knees. His eyes are closed. 

"You okay over there, Cas?" Sam says. 

Cas doesn't respond.

Sam is like an overgrown angel babysitter right now. Gabriel imagines what Sam is thinking. 

_Just keep them calm, don't let them go all smitey. Don't let them kill anyone. Watch for glowing eyes._

Gabriel can't find anything funny right now. 

"Has he prayed?" Gabriel asks. 

Cas shakes his head no. "I've heard no prayer since Katelyn. I just feel..." Cas' voice trails off. 

Gabriel looks at Cas, he's the only one who calls her Katelyn. Hearing that always makes Gabriel feel affection toward his brother. 

"What do you feel?" Sam walks toward Cas. 

Cas stands up straight and faces Sam.

"I feel _him_ , so he's alive. We know he's alive." And that's the only reassurance Cas can give right now. 

Sam doesn't look reassured. He looks terrified. Molly moves up beside him. 

"Ok, we need a plan. Staring at maps isn't doing shit. What can we do?" Molly says looking at each of them. 

Gabriel watches Cas closely. His movements are jerky; his face is drawn and looks older somehow. He keeps touching places on his body -- his thigh, his forearm, his neck. 

Sam and Molly are talking so Gabriel reaches out to Cas with his mind. 

_"Can I help you?"_ Gabriel has no idea what he could offer but if there's anything he could do for Cas, he'd at least try.

_"No, you?"_ Cas responds. 

_"How bad is it? How bad is he?"_ Gabriel asks. 

Cas looks directly at Gabriel then. " _The pain is unbearable, they're torturing him. He won't survive_."

"Guys, HELLO? Earth to angels," Sam says loudly," what do you think?" Cas and Gabriel turn to him, both are clueless as to what he's talking about.

"What if we summon a demon? Bring it here and get some answers?" 

Cas nods his head immediately. "Yes." His eyes flash bright white blue.

Gabriel goes to answer but he feels something from Kat. It's faint, blurry, but he can push toward it a little. He stands up. 

"She's dreaming," he says out loud, and he reaches out towards her mind again.

_"Kat, can you hear me?"_

"Gabe?" He can feel her reach back. "Help me, Gabe, please."

He can hear her but she's so faint. Almost like trying to hear a whisper over a roar.

"I will sweetie, stay calm ok? I'll be there soon. Are you hurt?" He talks fast, he wants her to hear as much as she can. He doesn't know how long this will last.

"Don't come here. It's a trap, don't come here-" 

Gabriel feels her consciousness change as she's wrenched out of sleep, pain ripping through her leg. The hound is biting down on her shin, teeth shoving into muscle, hitting bone.

_GABRIEL!_

Gabriel screams. It starts as a "NOOO!" But as the vessels lungs run out of air it changes to the scream of an angel. It's distorted a screeching wail that's ripped from the angel within. 

Sam and Molly turn away from him, doubling over. They cover their ears but it's no use. Neither of them can think nor speak, the sound overpowering everything in them. 

Gabriel throws his head back, his eyes pouring light. He will kill them _ALL_. He will cut them down like vermin. His hands are fisted, the wail going on and on. 

A touch on the shoulder from Castiel finally returns him to himself. He looks at his brother, the light from Gabriel's eyes illuminating Cas's face. 

Gabriel hears Sam and Molly take a deep gasping breath.

"Gabriel?" Cas whispers. If Gabriel is reacting this way it cannot be good. If Kat has died Gabriel will be inconsolable. 

"The hound..." Gabriel trails off. "Her leg. So much pain." He turns away.

"Are you okay?" Sam says very softly to Molly.

"I'm okay now," Molly whispers.

Cas turns to Sam and Molly. "Get a demon. Now. Summon one now." 

"Cas, I can't summon one here, it's warded. And we probably need a demon from somewhere close to them," Sam says, "we know that's south but where south?" 

Cas is going to fix this. He's going to get Dean back or he will die trying. The pain from Dean is horrific; he won't allow it to continue.

Cas strides toward Sam. "Come on," he says as he grips Sam's shoulder and disappears.


	7. Katelyn

Kat tries to breathe, she tries so hard, but the hound's teeth are roughly moving against the bone in her leg. It's feels like grinding sandpaper against concrete. She tries to pull in another breath. The air feels thin, like there's no oxygen.

The door flies open, a swarm of demons standing there, surveying the scene. 

"DOG!" Orange Sweatshirt yells. 

The hound releases her leg. She tries to scream, gagging on the rag. The pain is unbelievable. 

The demon kicks the hound, it yelps and scuttles away. He steps up in front of her, ripping the duct tape off and yanking the rag out of her mouth. 

"The fuck were you doin'? Huh?" Spit flies out of his mouth.

Kat gulps air in through her mouth, swallows, or tries to swallow through the dryness. 

Meth Head steps up, laughing. "You piss yerself?" She laughs harder. 

Kat doesn't care. The pain in her leg makes her want to vomit, but there's nothing in her stomach. Tears stream from both eyes, totally blocking her vision.

"I asked you a question, the fuck were you doin', cunt?" Orange Sweatshirt says, leaning down. 

Kat doesn't answer, just swallows again, finally feeling like there's a tiny bit of moisture in her mouth. Her breathing is still fast but not as frantic. She's adjusting to the pain. Or going into shock.

"I'll get an answer, bitch. The only thing you need to think about is what I'll do to get it," he spits, the demons behind him laughing. He grabs her chin, squeezing it hard. "Maybe I'll shove my cock down yer throat, make you gag on that, huh?" He stares at her mouth, smiling. "Nah, I'll jam it in yer ass, that'd be better. I bet that asshole is _tight_ , ain't it. Yeah..." 

He unbuckles his belt with one hand, as do several demons behind him. Kat can't breathe; he's still holding her face in his grip. She's panicking. Some of the demons start to whistle and holler. 

"Now, you gonna answer me, girl?" He waits, Kat couldn't speak if she tried. She's too scared. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" he bellows into her face. 

She hears a scuffle somewhere down the hall and the extra demons go running. She imagines that's Dean somewhere, raising Hell. That thought gives her strength. Probably stupid strength. She blinks away the tears and raises her good eye, looking at the demon.

"Fuck. You." she croaks out, her voice barely working. 

His fist connects with her jaw and both Kat and the chair flip backwards. She can see the ceiling for a second, there's a symbol on it. Why hadn't she looked _UP_? Dammit! Her head connects with the floor and she's out again.


	8. Dean

Julie Andrews starts with blunt objects. A rubber mallet, Dean is guessing. She focuses on joints at first, not breaking them but hitting them over and over. Hard. Then she moves on to more sensitive areas. She has to stop that pretty quickly though, because Dean almost loses consciousness. The entire time he's determined not to pray. If she asks if he's praying he ignores her. There's a reason she wants to know, there's a reason she's so curious about it, he just doesn't know what it is yet.

And besides, if Kate is praying then Gabe and Cas should know the situation. But why aren't they here? Something bigger has to be happening. If Dean could stop focusing on pain for five seconds he might be able to figure something out. 

Julie Andrews moves from the sensitive areas to his face.

"Such a pretty hunter," she coos, "we're just going have to ruin that beautiful face." Her tone of voice is deceiving, like she's reading a bedtime story to a child. The force of the blow she lands to his nose should have been preceded by a raging yell. "That handsome angel won't want you anymore..." She sighs, touching his broken nose, making him wince. "Shame to ruin that face."

She breaks two of his teeth. He chokes on one and is sure he's a goner before he finally manages to cough it up and spit them out. She laughs. More and more demons come into the room, he hears more laughing each time she hurts him severely. 

They murmur amongst themselves. They sound southern, totally different from her.

"Dean Winchester... Yep, It's him, I'm sure." 

"I don't know, I thought he was bigger..."

"That ain't him, he's taller."

"That's my brother, you fucking idiots," Dean finally says.

After a broken nose, busted teeth, cracked ribs, bruised kidneys, sore nuts, kneecaps, elbows and feet, Julie Andrews finally gets tired of beating him.

And then she starts cutting.

She cuts him for hours. Dean can survive cutting, he's had knives all over him, he's been stabbed and sliced, that's nothing new, but this is different.

She starts small, with razor blades. Little slices between his fingers and toes. Up the bottoms of each foot. In the septum of his nose, and that hurts like hell. Then she just gets mean. She cuts the inside of his mouth, eventually cutting so deep she cut through the outer skin. He probably looks like the Heath Ledger joker now. She cuts under his tongue, which hurts like a _son of a bitch_.

She shoves a razor under his thumb nail and leaves it there. Every once in a while she comes back and flicks it. It shoots a pain all the way up to his armpit. And then she takes off the blindfold. Dean knows that isn't good. 

He sees blinding white from the fluorescent light above him for a brief second, and he's barely able to make out the black outline of a symbol on the ceiling over him before she leans in, blocking his view. He tries to see her face but all he can really see are her black eyes. 

That symbol is important, he knows it is but he couldn't get a good enough look. 

_Dammit, Dean, you need a plan. Focus!_ he thinks. 

"You do have pretty eyes, hunter," she says. 

And then she cuts his eyelids. _His fucking eyelids_. His eyes burn with blood. He wants to squeeze his eyes closed but that hurts worse. He can't grit his teeth because of the pain in his mouth. He can't fist his hands because of the cuts between his fingers. 

This is bad.

He almost prays. Almost.

"Are you praying, dear?" 

He pushes the thought away. 

"Shame. Those perfect lips won't even be fit to suck his cock now."

Next, it's pressure points. It's something bigger than a razor, a knife he assumes, sharp as hell. She takes it to his inner elbow, his Adam's apple, his wrists, above his ears. She gets dangerously close to arteries, but he doesn't lose enough blood to lose consciousness, the whole time taunting him. 

"I think you _like_ this, hunter." She says as she unzips his pants. "I think you're getting off on it." She yanks his pants down his hips. "What do you think, hmm? You getting hard in here?"

She lifts the band of his underwear and looks inside (he presumes, his eyelids are ribbons and he can't see). "Nope, nothing spectacular in there." She laughs, and several demons cackle with her.

She cuts his boxer briefs down each side, not bothering to miss skin, and pulls them off. 

"Now, let's see what fun we can have with this. I want it _hard_ , do you hear me?" 

She slices right above the base of his cock. 

"Fucking bitch," Dean tries to say. His mouth isn't functioning right though. 

"You think I'm a bitch?" She laughs again; apparently everything happening is just _hysterical_. "I think I remember calling you that back in the day. I called you a hell of a lot more than that too."

 _What_? Dean thinks. He goes very still.

"Oh now, _Dean_ , you didn't just realize you know me, did you?" She slides the edge of the knife over the tip of his dick. He screams holy terror. 

That's the first time she's used his name.

"Oh, baby, we got history you and me." She slices up the underside of his shaft. "Come on now, you're not even _trying_ to get hard for me." 

She pulls on the skin of his sack and slides the blade over it quick and shallow, like she's scoring it.

Tears are pouring from his eyes; his whole body is in so much pain he thinks he's going to pass out. But she knows how to ride that line, keep him awake for all of it. 

"How do I know you?" he tries to say, it mostly comes out right. She gets his meaning.

"You really don't remember? Tsk tsk. That hurts my feelings. You used to love cutting me up like this." She slices the razor deep between both his testicles. 

He passes out for a second. Just a second. _Fuck_. He wants to stay unconscious, why can't he just black out already? _Please, just let me black out._

"Don't you leave us now, you've just got to stick around for more fun," she pats his bleeding arm. "As I was saying, you used to put me on that rack every single day and cut me to shreds, and I told you every time that I'd get you back some day. But then you escaped. _The righteous man was saved!_ And I thought I'd never get my chance," she cuts slashes across each hip, "but look what the boys brought home to me. I'm just here for a visit, pop in on holiday to say hi to old mates, you know? And you just fell right in my lap. The boys told me they had a new toy and I came to check it out. Lo and behold it's Dean BLOODY Winchester. I learned everything I know from you, love, and now we're gonna have our day." 

So she's a soul he tortured in Hell. Dean has no idea which one. He doesn't really care. There were so many, an endless line going on and on, looping back. He showed them no mercy, just like she's not showing him any now. 

He deserves this, really. It's surprising one of them hadn't caught up to him before now. 

Julie Andrews moves on to burning. He hears that distinct flick and whoosh of a blow torch. He feel the heat graze the curve of his shoulder, he smells his skin cooking. He can't scream anymore, his throat is raw.

A man is close by. "Mmmm, smells like some good eatin," he says. 

Demons laugh. 

"And now, Dean, now you're fucking that very angel who pulled you out of Hell. Do you spread your ass for anyone who saves you? Hmm? If one of these demons carries you out of here will you bend over for them?"

She touches the flame to his left nipple and he screams, his mouth tearing more. 

_Oh, God, help me!_

He couldn't help that thought.

And then he feels the heat on his dick. 

"I think you like being burned, hunter. I think you get off on it. I can't believe you can't get it up. Do you have to use Viagra for the angel? This is such a disappointment to me." The heat gets more intense. "You want me to burn your dick? Let's try it, see if you can finally get hard."

He feels that sensitive skin that's already so irritated from the cutting and beating get hotter and hotter. She goes slow, moving it closer so gradually. Dean is sweating profusely, his mouth full of blood. He's swallowed so much he doesn't know how he has any left. 

He smells it again, his flesh bubbling. He gags. And then she runs the flame up and down his cock. 

"CAAAAAS!" He manages to scream, the word ripped from him involuntarily. He couldn't control it. He sobs.

She cackles. 

"I knew I'd get you! That angel isn't coming though, Dean. Not till we're ready. We're planning a party, a huge welcome, and we don't have all the decorations up yet." 

Demons laugh around the room. 

_Cas, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry._ He didn't want to pray, God, he'd tried so hard not to. He knew she wanted it, all along it's the only thing she's wanted and he'd been determined not to give it to her, but he broke. He broke, and she won, and he hates himself for it. 

"Now, darling, now we can start the real fun." 

She goes on and on, and each time Dean thinks it can't get worse it does. His body is so wracked with pain his nerves almost can't even feel anymore. He wishes they couldn't.

She moves to electricity. He hears popping and crackling, and then he hears demons moving closer. She touches his arm and it lights him up. His back arcs off the table, his muscles seize. 

Dean prays. Once he starts he can't stop. And besides, if he's dying he wants the last person he talks to, to be Cas, even if it's just a prayer.

_Cas, baby, I'm okay. I'll be okay. They won't kill me. They're keeping me alive for something._

_I knew this demon in Hell, Cas, I tortured her. Guess I'm getting my payback now._

_I hope you can't hear me. I hope you don't know what's happening here._

_We should go on a vacation after this shit. Why haven't I ever been on a vacation? I deserve a vacation, Cas._

He hears the electricity popping and snapping again. She very lightly touches it to his toe, marking a spasm run through his foot and calf, all the way up into his thigh.

Her voice cuts into his prayers, "Oh, that's just beautiful, Dean. Let's see what that does to your balls, doesn't that sound fun?" 

_It hurts so much. I wish I could hear your voice. Even just in my head. Where are you?_

_Help me, Cas, please._

_Cas, I don't know. I might not make it. I'm tryin' though. I wanna see your face again. I wanna see your face right now, baby._

_You take care of Sammy, you hear? You help him and Molly. They deserve a life, Cas. Get them out of this hunting shit, out of this war._

_Don't let this happen to Sam, please._

_I need you, Cas. It hurts so much._

_Gabe, you got your ears on? If I die, you tell Cas I love him, you hear me? I haven't said it yet, but when I say it, it's gonna be in person, not in a prayer. I'm not telling him that in a fucking prayer, I wanna see his face. But if I die first, you tell him. Make sure he knows. You better fucking tell him, Gabriel, or I swear to God I'll come back and kill you again. Got it?_

_One more thing, Gabe. Take care of Kate. And you keep Cas safe. Tell him to visit me in Heaven. If I get there._

_Cas, please..._

He zones out. He loses himself in the prayer and the pain. At one point he's praying to Sam, and then he laughs at himself. That's when the Julie gets _really_ pissed.


	9. Gabriel & Castiel

Cas and Sam reappear not even five minutes after they left, a demon slumped in Cas' arm. He shoves the demon at Gabriel.

"Restrain him, I'll get more." Cas disappears again.

Gabriel pushes the demon back, holding it at arm's length.

"Where are we doing this?' He looks between Sam and Molly.

"Follow me," Sam says. 

They wind down two levels below the main floor into a room filled with shackles, chains, chairs with restraints, instruments of torture lining the walls. This is the room they use when they want answers. They restrain the demons, Cas returns with three more. They chain them, sit them in demon traps, and they get started.

Cas kills two within the first fifteen minutes. Gabriel watches.

"Cas, you can't keep smiting them, we won't get answers that way!" Sam says, exasperated. 

Cas looks at him coldly. 

"It's okay, Sam," Molly rubs her hand across his shoulders, "it's an example to the other two. They know he means business now." 

Cas looks at her for a second and turns back to the demons again. 

"You will tell me where they are or I will kill you. I can always get more." Cas' voice is so low, rough and angry.

"I don't know! I'm low level, they don't tell me shit!" 

"Shut up, Sitri, keep your mouth shut!" the other demon says. 

Gabriel steps forward. Cas glares at him, but Gabriel speaks anyway.

"Sitri, is it? Well, Sitri, I'm so glad to make your acquaintance. Do you know who I am?" Gabriel stands beside Cas, facing the demon. 

"I, well, I think. I mean, you're an archangel, right? Only one left." His voice is shaking.

"I'm not the only one left; I have two brothers in a cage in Hell. You know Hell, you spent a lot of time there before you became a demon," Gabriel leans down in the demon's face, "you listen to me you disgusting piece of shit, I'll make Hell look like a fucking fairytale if you don't TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!" 

The demon turns his head and closes his eyes, trembling. 

Cas gasps, rocking on his feet. Gabriel reaches towards him but Cas moves away. 

He stands in a corner and leans his head back against the wall. He's shaking violently, he can't control it. The pain from Dean is too much. He'd like to torture these demons but he doesn't have it within his control to keep it together. He half watches Gabriel as the pain washes over him in waves. 

_What are they doing to Dean?_

Sam turns toward him. "Cas?" 

Cas looks to Sam, meeting his eyes. What can he say? "He's alive." 

Gabriel tortures the demon for hours, the other watching, initially in indifference and finally in horror. It seems to realize that once the first one dies, it will be next. 

Sam and Molly watch, they touch each other, small reassuring touches. Sam watches Cas closely, lines of worry etched into his face. He paces. He watches Gabriel. Paces. Watches Cas. He's going crazy. No one suggests he leave, there'd be no point. He wants information just as bad as the angels.

This demon knows nothing. The only information he gives are two names, Veich and Hiisi. 

"Hiisi isn't a name, it's a class of Demon, you idiot," Gabriel says. 

"I don't know, it's what she goes by, I swear. Her and Veich been fightin' it out, trying to take power. That's all I know, I swear. Please..."

Gabriel holds the demon's head up by its bloody hair. 

"What's his name," he points to the second demon. 

Cas feels a terrible wave of pain, something cutting up between Dean's testicles. He pulls his hair, yanking it hard and slamming his skull back into the wall. 

Gabriel turns toward Cas and then back to the demon. 

"WHAT'S HIS FUCKING NAME?!" 

The demon moans. Gabriel yanks on its hair harder. "Bael," it manages to say. 

Gabriel places his palm flat to the demon's forehead and Sam and Molly turn away. He smites it, his grace pouring through the demon, burning out its eyes and mouth. 

Cas watches Gabriel turn to the other demon. 

"Bael, is it? I'm Gabriel, I believe you're familiar with my work," he points to the dead demon, "let's get started." 

Cas hears the first prayer then, he hears Dean wail his name. Cas gasps.

And then Dean apologizes. He apologizes to Cas. 

_"Cas, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."_

Cas collapses, tears streaming down his face. He lands on his butt with a thump. 

Gabriel turns around. 

_He's praying_ , Cas says with his mind, _it's so bad._

Gabriel nods. He turns back to the demon. "Well, Bael, you and me just hit the fast track." 

Gabriel descends upon the demon, gleaning information as fast as he can. 

Cas barely knows what's happening in the room. He focuses on Dean. His prayers are so faint, soft and distorted. But Cas listens closely, not wanting to miss a word. 

_"Cas, baby, I'm okay. I'll be okay. They won't kill me. They're keeping me alive for something."_

Dean is not okay. Cas sobs. Molly moves towards him but Sam stops her. 

"Cas," Sam whispers. 

Cas shakes his head. "He's alive."

"What's happening?" Sam asks. "Tell me what's going on."

Cas shakes his head; Dean would not want Sam to know what's happening. He'd be furious with Cas if he told Sam anything. Finally Cas looks back at Sam, he knows Sam needs something. He knows something is going on; he needs some kind of reassurance.

"He's praying, Sam. I can hear him praying now."

Sam's face crumbles for a second. He turns away and Molly wraps her arms around him. They take a moment to put themselves together before they turn back to watch Gabriel.

Cas listens intently, holding on to every word of Dean's prayer. He holds the words in his mind; he memorizes the sound of Dean praying like a piece of music. 

Dean is praying about going on vacation. So help him, Cas will take Dean around the world ten times. He will.

_"It hurts so much, I wish I could hear your voice. Even just in my head. Where are you?"_

_Dean. DEAN!_ Cas screams into a void.

The demon screams too. 

_"Help me, Cas, please."_

Cas is rocking back and forth, shaking violently. He pulls his legs up, wraps his arms tightly around them. He listens closely.

_"Cas, I don't know. I might not make it. I'm tryin though. I wanna see your face again. I wanna see your face right now, baby."_

Cas is desperate. He's never been this desperate in his long life because he's never had anything that he's ever cared for as much as he cares for Dean. He does something he never imagined doing before: he asks his father for help.

_Father, please help. Please don't take him. Don't let them, please._

Cas shuts his eyes tightly at what Dean says next, he's asking Cas to watch over his baby brother. Dean is trusting Cas with Sam's care.

_"You take care of Sammy, you hear? You help him and Molly. They deserve a life, Cas. Get them out of this hunting shit, out of this war."_

_Don't you do that Dean, don't you make your peace. You won't die. You. Will. Not. Die._ Cas uses every grain of his being to push this thought toward Dean. He has no idea if it will get through, but he says his own little prayer that it will. 

_"I need you, Cas. It hurts so much."_

Cas screams. Gabriel goes very still. He completely stops moving. He glances at Cas. 

"Gabe-" Sam starts to say but Gabriel raises a hand to silence him. 

Gabriel looks up, cocks his head. Listening. He walks toward Cas and kneels down. Cas looks at his brother, covered in demon blood. Tears stream uncontrollably from Cas' eyes. 

"I can't lose him, Gabriel, please don't let them take him from me. I need him." His voice breaks as he goes on, "I love him, I just got him, please."

Gabriel touches his face softly. "I won't, brother, I heard him too. We're so close, just hold on."

Sam slams his fist into a cement wall. Gabriel turns and walks back to the demon. 

"No more, just kill me," the demon says.

"You want me to kill you? You want mercy? Tell me something I can use." 

"I don't know," the demon watches Gabriel pick up a hook from the floor. "No, please. Alabama, that's all I know! Something was going on in Alabama."

Gabriel places a hand on its forehead.

"You're lucky you're here," Gabriel says. "The demons in Alabama have no idea what's coming for them."


	10. Dean

Julie Andrews starts to unbuckle Dean's restraints.

 _Dammit, Dean, get your shit together._ He has to be ready. 

"You think this is funny? Do you?" 

She undoes his left wrist. 

"I'll show you something funny."

His right ankle is next. 

She's at his right wrist, there are men holding him down. And then there's a horrendous scream from down the hall. It's Kate, he knows it is. 

_Son of a bitch!_

"Bloody hell, what is it now?!" she yells, her voice moving away from Dean.

He hears demons running out of the room, the hands holding him down are gone. He can't hear anything but screaming down the hall. He reaches over and gets his other hand unbuckled and then tries to sit up. 

_Oh shit._

He tries again and barely makes it. He gets his ankle undone and slides off the table to the floor. He almost throws up. The pain is more than he can fully register, but it's all he can focus on. 

He can't see really, but he can make out light through a doorway so he moves towards it. He tries to peek around the door. There's a large moving mass to his right, demons he presumes. 

_Kate._

He can't help her in the shape he's in. He has to get out, get help.

He goes left and ducks in the first door. There's a door on the opposite wall, he can see light through a window because the room is dark, he moves to it as fast as he can. 

_Please let it go outside._

It's a stairwell. Of course, he wouldn't be so lucky. Up or down? He has no idea if he's on a ground floor or basement or three floors up. He goes down. The cuts on his feet are bleeding; he's leaving an obvious trail. He stumbles, goes to his knees twice but somehow manages to get up. He's naked, the bitch cut off his clothes one piece at a time. There's nothing he can do. 

He hears the bitch scream behind him like a banshee. He tries to go faster but his feet are slipping in blood. He slides down four stairs, his ass slamming down. He hears demons right above him. No more than ten seconds later he feels hands on his arms. They turn him around, his head hanging forward as they pull him up. 

Julie Andrews is in his face, her hand holding his chin. He can't see her but he can feel her breath.

"Oh you're going to _pay_ now, Winchester. You thought I was mad before? Just wait. I've got a mop handle with your name on it, perfect size for your ass. I'm gonna shove it so far up there, really open you up, and then we'll get out the _good_ toys." 

_Cas!_

Dean's stomach recoils, all the blood he's swallowed coming back up. His mouth burns and throbs.

"Oh, I've just had the most wonderful thought," she says from in front of him, "I bet a few of the boys would love a turn at that perfect ass. I mean really, how many demons can say they've fucked Dean Winchester? What do you say boys!" 

Dean hears yelling and whooping from above him on the stairs.

_Help me..._

They drag him back to his room.


	11. Gabriel & Castiel

Sam and Molly are pouring over maps of Alabama, searching the Internet for demon activity in the state. There's nothing, it's been silent for a week. Before that there was no pattern, no sign of anything being planned. 

Gabriel is standing in the doorway, Cas behind him sobbing, Sam and Molly in front of him ripping their hair out.

"Look for something else," Gabriel commands. 

"What?! What the fuck are we looking for?!" Sam slams his palm against the table. Molly slumps into a chair, her face in her hands. 

"ANYTHING!" Gabriel screams. 

Gabriel takes a deep breath. He has to keep it together. He has to hold himself in check for Cas. Sam and Molly are trying; they're working harder than should be possible after two days of no sleep. 

Gabriel hangs his head down for a minute. 

"Prior to the week of silence, look for quiet spots. If they were planning something they wouldn't want to draw attention to it." 

Molly's fingers fly across the keyboard, the mouse clicking. Sam leans over her, his hands on the table beside the keyboard.

"Nooo," Cas groans, "no no no..."

Sam clenches his fists.

"There," Molly says, "fifty mile radius. It's not great but it's a start." 

She looks at Gabriel and he nods.

********************************************************

**Katelyn**

Kat wakes to cold water hitting her face. She's on her back, still tied to the chair. Meth Head is throwing ice cold water on her from a dirty bucket. Kat gasps, breathes in water and coughs. The demon dumps the rest on her face and then rights her chair. 

The room tilts, spins. Kat's damn sure she's got a concussion now. She's seeing double out of one eye and no matter how much she blinks it won't clear. 

"It's almost show time darlin'," the Meth Head says. 

Kat looks up, taking in the symbol on the ceiling. She has no idea what it is. She holds the picture in her mind.

_Gabriel_ , she prays, she tries to push out the image of the symbol. No idea if it will work or not. The hound is up and at her throat in an instant, drool dripping onto her chest.


	12. Gabriel

They're standing in a neighborhood. Gabriel called twenty angels to accompany him with Cas, Sam and Molly. Cas is slumps against a light pole. He has moments of coherence when he says Dean is unconscious, but most of the time his eyes are closed, his mouth slack, and his hands hanging limply at his sides. Whatever they're doing to Dean is bad, _really bad._

"We have fifty miles. We need to search it as fast as possible. I want fifteen of you in the air. The other five will stay with these two humans," he says, pointing at Sam and Molly. "They're fully capable, but I want them protected, if something happens to them, Kat and Dean will kill me, and then I'll kill all of you. Understand?"

The angels nod in unison. A brother steps forward. "What about Castiel?" 

"He stays with me, he's in my charge." 

Fifteen angels disappear. 

Gabriel turns to Cas. _What am I going to do with him?_

Sam and Molly start walking, angels following their steps. 

Gabriel feels Kat. She's been unconscious for a while, but suddenly he _sees_ something. It's blurry, there are two of them overlapping, but he can make it out. He closes his eyes and focuses. 

_Oh, kitten, that's my girl! Yes!_

He grabs Cas by the face, shaking him. 

"Cas, hey," he smacks him, "Castiel! Come on, I've got something! I need your help." 

Cas opens his eyes. He squares his shoulders and meets Gabriel's eyes. 

Gabriel doesn't have time to explain this. Sam and Molly have looked back, the sound of him yelling at Cas drawing their attention.

He touches Cas' temple, conveying the symbol to him. 

_Do you know this? You know what it does?_

Cas nods.

/i>Good, unwind it. Follow the trail. If we're both working on it we can find them faster. 

Gabriel lets go of Cas' face. He starts unwinding the path of prayer, remembering this ancient symbol. It's a scrambler, primitive and archaic, but obviously very effective. Gabriel wouldn't have ever thought of this. This type of magic was lost to time thousands of years ago.

_Thank Heaven for Kat._

****************************************  
**Katelyn**

The Meth Head demon laughs. "You prayin' to yer boyfriend?" she says in a high-pitched voice, like a child, taunting Kat. "Why won't you listen? He. Can't. Hear. You. You stupid or somthin'? I'da thought he would of picked somebody smarter, geez."

Kat licks her lips, stays quiet. It does her no good to be knocked out, but she hates this bitch, almost as much as she hates Orange Sweatshirt.

"Get back, dog," the demon says. The hound moves away, but it doesn't go far. "Still can't believe you pissed yerself," the demon smirks.

Kat meets her eyes and smiles. She feels her bottom lip split open, touches the blood with her tongue. "You ever been bit by a Hellhound?" Kat asks. Her voice is barely more than a whisper. 

The demon stares at her and blinks, eyes going black. "Yeah, hurts like hell, don't it?" She cackles, the sound making Kat's hair stand on end. 

"You know, you ain't bad lookin'. Whaddya say after yer boyfriend's dead you and me take a little roll in the hay? I promise you'll like it." The demon smiles, no teeth showing. She leans down over Kat, smelling her hair. She reaches out and pinches Kat's nipple, then shoves her hand between her legs, pushing her fingers against Kat's crotch, like she's trying to finger her through her jeans. It hurts, but not as bad as the bite wound. 

Kat grits her teeth and swallows blood, she wants to throw up. She keeps her voice even, calm. "Sorry, not into girls," she says. 

The demon looks her up and down, smile fading away. "S'alright. I'll just watch the boys take a turn with ya then. We got lotsa boys. We'll tie yer angel up and let him watch too, bet he'd get a kick outta that." The demon laughs again and then walks out, slamming the door.

Kat looks to where she hears the hound panting. _I'll pray my loudest and let that thing eat me before that happens_ , she thinks. The hound whines. 

She sits there for a while, watching the faint light of dawn spread through the room. It makes it more obvious that she's seeing double. There are two doors across from her now. She stares at them through one eye. Waits. The hound moves. 

Sometime after sunup the door opens. It's the Orange Sweatshirt demon again. He bends down and cuts the ropes around her legs without saying a word. Then he cuts her hands free. She can't move, it's like she's still tied down. 

"Get up," he says. She doesn't look at him, doesn't move at all. 

He grabs her by the hair, yanking her up. She feels her hair rip out. He lets go and she slams to the floor. Her feet are dead, her legs won't hold her. Her arms will barely move, she can't even soften her fall. 

"Fucking bitch," he spits, "bring her, dog." The demon walks out.


	13. Dean

Dean has been unconscious. Thank God. He couldn't take anymore, he prayed and prayed and Cas never came, Gabriel never came, God never came. 

He comes to slowly, realizing he's being dragged out of the room. Where are they taking him? Do they think he's dead? No, the bitch would be _sure_ , she'd never take the chance of letting him get out alive. 

They turn right out of the door, the opposite of the way he had tried to escape. It feels like he's dragged a mile but that's probably because he's slipping in and out of consciousness. He thuds against a wall; they don't even try to restrain him. They know he's not going anywhere. 

"…big circle, really big," someone says, "all around the entrance to the room. We all stay outta that circle and we'll be fine, they can't get out. Once it's lit we can kill all of 'em but the archangel. He's the only one that matters. He's got more juice than all of them combined." 

Dean slips out of consciousness again, and when he comes to he can't tell if it's been a minute or an hour. He hears more feet coming into the room. 

"Do you know your roles? Your words?" It's the bitch, Julie Andrews. 

"Shut the fuck up, Hiisi, you ain't been round no way. You been playin with yer hunter." 

"Mind your tone, Veich. I've entertained myself, trusting you to handle the preparation. If you mess this up, if _one single thing_ goes wrong, I will make you pay. What I did to the hunter will look like child's play compared to you."

"We're ready. Get the bitch, tell her to pray."

Dean prays, _Cas, if you can hear me, this is a huge trap for Gabriel, don't come here. Don't you get yourself killed trying to save me, I'll be fine, I'm okay, you stay away. They're getting Kat..._

Dean passes out. 

**********************************************

**Katelyn**

Kat hears the dog stand, feet padding softly toward her. It smells her face and she recoils. It growls. It moves down to her leg, the one it's already chewed on. She can't feel it now. She hears the dog lick it, and then it's pulling her by her leg into the hall. She can't feel any of it. It pulls her down the hall, past open doors, rooms smelling like blood and shit. She looks for a sign of Dean, but all the rooms are empty. It drags her into the middle of a large open room and stops. It doesn't let go of her leg. There have to be at least 30 demons standing around, all of them staring at her. Maybe there are only 15, she's still seeing double so she doesn't know for sure. 

"Pray," Meth Head says, stepping forward.

"What?" Kat asks. Her voice is a little stronger. She hears a cough. She looks around and see's someone on the floor in the corner, just a lump. She can't see well enough to know for sure, but she hopes it's Dean. 

"I said, fucking PRAY. Bring him here. We're ready."


	14. Gabriel

Gabriel does one last scan of the building from overhead. It's centered in an abandoned industrial complex, must have been an office building at some point. It's crawling with demons. 

He lands, looking over at his soldiers. 

"Sam, Molly, I want you and ten angels on the outside pushing your way in. It won't be easy, it's heavily guarded. Take every weapon you can carry, all of you." He turns and looks at Cas. "Castiel and I will have the other ten angels with us. We start at the back of the building and move forward. You look for humans, if you see Kat or Dean before we do, you tell us _immediately_. Does everyone understand?" 

Gabriel walks to Cas, speaking to him privately.

_I need you to focus. Block him out. I know you don't want to but we need you now. I need the warrior, Castiel, can you do that?_

Cas stands straight, pushing his shoulders back. He walks past Gabriel and stands in front of the angels. 

"I want the demons responsible for Dean Winchester's torture. I want them alive, and delivered to me personally," Cas barks. 

Gabriel moves beside Castiel, placing his hand on his shoulder. 

"You'll have them, brother. I'll bring them to you on a silver platter."

The angels nod. They move in.

Gabe and Cas land inside the building moving quickly through empty rooms, they see the symbol on the ceiling in two of them. Blood coats a table in one. Knives and razors, hammers, all sorts of things littering the floor. 

_Dean_ , Cas thinks. He pushes on. 

The second room has a chair, just a single chair, with cut rope strewn on the floor.

_Kat_. Gabriel moves forward. 

There are a few demons hiding in rooms along the hallway. Their angel brothers and sisters take care of them quickly and efficiently. 

Cas snatches one demon by the hair. 

"Who tortured Dean Winchester?" he demands. 

The demon smirks. 

"You will tell me or I'll shove an angel blade up your ass." 

The demon reconsiders. "Hiisi," it says. 

Cas smites it. 

They're being led like cattle; both Gabriel and Cas know it. They move toward the end of the hall, knowing full well it's a trap. The closer they get they can see demons lining the wall of a large room. Kat is on the floor in the middle, a Hellhound standing by her. 

He hears Cas push out words then, very forcefully. 

_Be still._

He pushes it out to Dean, Kat, Sam and Molly, and all the angels hear the order as well. 

The hound lunges for Kat. Gabriel has to contain himself, he wants to rush forward. 

_Think. Be smart. Don't get her killed._

He lifts the hound, it yelps as its feet leave the ground. He rolls and twists it in the air making it howl and cry. And then he eviscerates it, splitting it in half, its foul insides leaking their blackness onto the floor. 

He and Cas step through the doorway, their brothers and sisters behind them.

A match is dropped immediately. A ring of holy oil flames to life around them. The angels turn in a circle. 

Gabriel plays his part. 

_Be calm_ , he tells the angels, _don't speak. Give me time, let me get them talking._

"All this for little ole me?! Aww come on guys, you didn't have to go to all this trouble. A simple invitation in the mail would have been plenty! I should have brought marshmallows! Now, what do we have for drinks, huh? I'll take a Shirley Temple, someone get on that, pronto! What about party games? Twister? Uno?" Gabriel is full of snark. 

Kat turns her head and looks at him, standing in a ring of fire with his angels. Cas' eyes lock on the body in the corner. 

"Kat," Gabriel says, "it's okay."

_Gabriel, this is a trap_. 

A demon in an orange sweatshirt grabs Kat by her hair and pulls her up. "Fucking bastard," she whispers. 

"You hear that? She's got a nasty mouth on her!" another one says. 

Orange Sweatshirt laughs, "Yer girlfriend's got a dirty mouth, angel. You stick your dick in there?" The demons cackle. "You fell right into it, didn't ya. We got you now. You're trapped." 

"You know, I _almost_ thought you guys were smart. I mean, I couldn't figure it out at first, what was going on," Gabriel says. 

The demons laugh. "We're gonna bleed you dry!" Meth Head cackles. 

"Shut up, fool!" Orange Sweatshirt says over his shoulder.

"Is that what this is about? You want my grace?" Gabriel looks around the room. "I don't see any way to contain it, do you have a plan?" 

The demons shift and glance around uncomfortably.

"We got a spell!" Meth Head says from her gaping mouth. 

"Shut the fuck up you bloody idiot!" A female demon yells.

"Oh a spell, well that's perfect then. I mean, a spell fixes everything. You're just gonna pull out my grace, which is powerful enough to cut you all down, and just let it float around in the air, all pretty like. Chant your _spell_ at it. Is that what's gonna happen?" 

Gabriel's eyes spark. 

"Man, you guys are some _dumb fucking demons_. Seriously, you guys should win an award." Gabriel claps. "You have to have a container. Do I have to teach you everything?" Who's in charge here?" 

Several demons look to Orange Sweatshirt. 

"Oh it would be you, wouldn't it? You're obviously the brightest of this bunch. Okay, _Deliverance_ , so you get my grace out. You're all oohing and ahhing over it while your eyes burn out. Then what? Where are you gonna put it? You can't put it in a Ziploc, it's not leftover pizza! It's more powerful than all theirs combined," he motions to the other angels, "you think you're gonna pack it up in some Tupperware like mountain oysters? How dumb are you?"

"He didn't say nuthin' bout no container," Meth Head whispers.

Orange Sweatshirt wraps his hand around Kat's throat, choking her. 

"Oh yeah? How dumb am I now? _Huh, angel_? " 

Gabriel can hear Kat's thoughts clearly, and she wants to rip Orang Sweatshirt's fucking insides out, she hates him so much. 

" _Really. Fucking. Dumb_." Gabriel's eyes glow. 

"Which one of you is Hiisi?" Cas barks. 

Julie Andrews steps forward, petite, long dark hair framing a heart shaped face. She looks innocent and sweet. 

"Does my reputation precede me? I must say, you're so much prettier in person. I can see why the hunter took such a liking to you. We talked about you so much, Dean and I. He had nothing but good things to say." She bows slightly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Castiel."

Cas doesn't respond but he locks eyes on her. 

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" Orange Sweatshirt booms out. "I want the archangel alive, the rest of 'em are open season!" 

Hiisi speaks again, "I'd like the one with the blue eyes kept alive please." 

Apparently the demons are supposed to be moving into the circle, attacking, but they're all frozen. 

"Come on!" Meth Head screams, "Kill 'em!" 

"Hell no!"

"Do it yer fuckin' self, bitch!" 

Hiisi turns to the Orange Sweatshirt. "Veich, get control of your ranks or you will _regret this."_

"Fuck off Hiisi, yer so bad you get in there yerself." He juts his chin at the angels. 

Gabriel watches Kat, never taking his eyes off her. He hears a click above him. _Be ready!_ He pushes the thought out to the angels and humans.

Suddenly, the sprinklers turn on, spewing water in wide circles. 

_Stupid fucking demons._ The flame flicker but doesn't die. 

"YOU IDIOTS!" Hissi screams in rage, "You didn't disable the sprinklers?!" 

"Didn't know there was any!" Meth Head screams back. 

The flames go lower. 

"Turn them off!" 

"We can't, only way to do it is out there," Veich says. He inclines his head toward the hall. 

The demons have trapped themselves in a room where the only exit is through 12 angels. 

The flames flicker. 

"Attack!" Hiisi screams. 

Just as the flames die, she moves toward Castiel. 

He bends his knees and lowers his body and as she lunges at him, he springs forward. He lands one hand on her head and one on her chest and he flies toward the opposite wall, knocking demons down like bowling pins behind her. He slams his fist through her chest and crushes her heart, smashing her skull into the wall. 

A trace of black smoke starts to snake from her nose and his eyes flash like lightning. He burns her, the demon can't escape. 

Gabriel raises his hand to the demon holding Kat and closes it, pulling it to him. The demon's intestines rip out. He drops Kat onto the floor and Gabriel flies forward, landing his hands on both Veich and Meth Head's faces, smiting them instantly. Then he scrambles to shield Kat and Dean, as Cas throws his head back, a scream of rage emanating from his very core. He shoves his grace out with force, every demon in the room falling to the floor, dead.

Gabriel picks up Kat and flies, Cas cradles Dean in his arms and follows.


	15. Gabriel

Gabriel does one last scan of the building from overhead. It's centered in an abandoned industrial complex, must have been an office building at some point. It's crawling with demons. 

He lands, looking over at his soldiers. 

"Sam, Molly, I want you and ten angels on the outside pushing your way in. It won't be easy, it's heavily guarded. Take every weapon you can carry, all of you." He turns and looks at Cas. "Castiel and I will have the other ten angels with us. We start at the back of the building and move forward. You look for humans, if you see Kat or Dean before we do, you tell us _immediately_. Does everyone understand?" 

Gabriel walks to Cas, speaking to him privately.

_I need you to focus. Block him out. I know you don't want to but we need you now. I need the warrior, Castiel, can you do that?_

Cas stands straight, pushing his shoulders back. He walks past Gabriel and stands in front of the angels. 

"I want the demons responsible for Dean Winchester's torture. I want them alive, and delivered to me personally," Cas barks. 

Gabriel moves beside Castiel, placing his hand on his shoulder. 

"You'll have them, brother. I'll bring them to you on a silver platter."

The angels nod. They move in.

Gabe and Cas land inside the building moving quickly through empty rooms, they see the symbol on the ceiling in two of them. Blood coats a table in one. Knives and razors, hammers, all sorts of things littering the floor. 

_Dean_ , Cas thinks. He pushes on. 

The second room has a chair, just a single chair, with cut rope strewn on the floor.

 _Kat_. Gabriel moves forward. 

There are a few demons hiding in rooms along the hallway. Their angel brothers and sisters take care of them quickly and efficiently. 

Cas snatches one demon by the hair. 

"Who tortured Dean Winchester?" he demands. 

The demon smirks. 

"You will tell me or I'll shove an angel blade up your ass." 

The demon reconsiders. "Hiisi," it says. 

Cas smites it. 

They're being led like cattle; both Gabriel and Cas know it. They move toward the end of the hall, knowing full well it's a trap. The closer they get they can see demons lining the wall of a large room. Kat is on the floor in the middle, a Hellhound standing by her. 

He hears Cas push out words then, very forcefully. 

_Be still._

He pushes it out to Dean, Kat, Sam and Molly, and all the angels hear the order as well. 

The hound lunges for Kat. Gabriel has to contain himself, he wants to rush forward. 

_Think. Be smart. Don't get her killed._

He lifts the hound, it yelps as its feet leave the ground. He rolls and twists it in the air making it howl and cry. And then he eviscerates it, splitting it in half, its foul insides leaking their blackness onto the floor. 

He and Cas step through the doorway, their brothers and sisters behind them.

A match is dropped immediately. A ring of holy oil flames to life around them. The angels turn in a circle. 

Gabriel plays his part. 

_Be calm_ , he tells the angels, _don't speak. Give me time, let me get them talking._

"All this for little ole me?! Aww come on guys, you didn't have to go to all this trouble. A simple invitation in the mail would have been plenty! I should have brought marshmallows! Now, what do we have for drinks, huh? I'll take a Shirley Temple, someone get on that, pronto! What about party games? Twister? Uno?" Gabriel is full of snark. 

Kat turns her head and looks at him, standing in a ring of fire with his angels. Cas' eyes lock on the body in the corner. 

"Kat," Gabriel says, "it's okay."

 _Gabriel, this is a trap_. 

A demon in an orange sweatshirt grabs Kat by her hair and pulls her up. "Fucking bastard," she whispers. 

"You hear that? She's got a nasty mouth on her!" another one says. 

Orange Sweatshirt laughs, "Yer girlfriend's got a dirty mouth, angel. You stick your dick in there?" The demons cackle. "You fell right into it, didn't ya. We got you now. You're trapped." 

"You know, I _almost_ thought you guys were smart. I mean, I couldn't figure it out at first, what was going on," Gabriel says. 

The demons laugh. "We're gonna bleed you dry!" Meth Head cackles. 

"Shut up, fool!" Orange Sweatshirt says over his shoulder.

"Is that what this is about? You want my grace?" Gabriel looks around the room. "I don't see any way to contain it, do you have a plan?" 

The demons shift and glance around uncomfortably.

"We got a spell!" Meth Head says from her gaping mouth. 

"Shut the fuck up you bloody idiot!" A female demon yells.

"Oh a spell, well that's perfect then. I mean, a spell fixes everything. You're just gonna pull out my grace, which is powerful enough to cut you all down, and just let it float around in the air, all pretty like. Chant your _spell_ at it. Is that what's gonna happen?" 

Gabriel's eyes spark. 

"Man, you guys are some _dumb fucking demons_. Seriously, you guys should win an award." Gabriel claps. "You have to have a container. Do I have to teach you everything?" Who's in charge here?" 

Several demons look to Orange Sweatshirt. 

"Oh it would be you, wouldn't it? You're obviously the brightest of this bunch. Okay, _Deliverance_ , so you get my grace out. You're all oohing and ahhing over it while your eyes burn out. Then what? Where are you gonna put it? You can't put it in a Ziploc, it's not leftover pizza! It's more powerful than all theirs combined," he motions to the other angels, "you think you're gonna pack it up in some Tupperware like mountain oysters? How dumb are you?"

"He didn't say nuthin' bout no container," Meth Head whispers.

Orange Sweatshirt wraps his hand around Kat's throat, choking her. 

"Oh yeah? How dumb am I now? _Huh, angel_? " 

Gabriel can hear Kat's thoughts clearly, and she wants to rip Orang Sweatshirt's fucking insides out, she hates him so much. 

" _Really. Fucking. Dumb_." Gabriel's eyes glow. 

"Which one of you is Hiisi?" Cas barks. 

Julie Andrews steps forward, petite, long dark hair framing a heart shaped face. She looks innocent and sweet. 

"Does my reputation precede me? I must say, you're so much prettier in person. I can see why the hunter took such a liking to you. We talked about you so much, Dean and I. He had nothing but good things to say." She bows slightly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Castiel."

Cas doesn't respond but he locks eyes on her. 

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" Orange Sweatshirt booms out. "I want the archangel alive, the rest of 'em are open season!" 

Hiisi speaks again, "I'd like the one with the blue eyes kept alive please." 

Apparently the demons are supposed to be moving into the circle, attacking, but they're all frozen. 

"Come on!" Meth Head screams, "Kill 'em!" 

"Hell no!"

"Do it yer fuckin' self, bitch!" 

Hiisi turns to the Orange Sweatshirt. "Veich, get control of your ranks or you will _regret this."_

"Fuck off Hiisi, yer so bad you get in there yerself." He juts his chin at the angels. 

Gabriel watches Kat, never taking his eyes off her. He hears a click above him. _Be ready!_ He pushes the thought out to the angels and humans.

Suddenly, the sprinklers turn on, spewing water in wide circles. 

_Stupid fucking demons._ The flame flicker but doesn't die. 

"YOU IDIOTS!" Hissi screams in rage, "You didn't disable the sprinklers?!" 

"Didn't know there was any!" Meth Head screams back. 

The flames go lower. 

"Turn them off!" 

"We can't, only way to do it is out there," Veich says. He inclines his head toward the hall. 

The demons have trapped themselves in a room where the only exit is through 12 angels. 

The flames flicker. 

"Attack!" Hiisi screams. 

Just as the flames die, she moves toward Castiel. 

He bends his knees and lowers his body and as she lunges at him, he springs forward. He lands one hand on her head and one on her chest and he flies toward the opposite wall, knocking demons down like bowling pins behind her. He slams his fist through her chest and crushes her heart, smashing her skull into the wall. 

A trace of black smoke starts to snake from her nose and his eyes flash like lightning. He burns her, the demon can't escape. 

Gabriel raises his hand to the demon holding Kat and closes it, pulling it to him. The demon's intestines rip out. He drops Kat onto the floor and Gabriel flies forward, landing his hands on both Veich and Meth Head's faces, smiting them instantly. Then he scrambles to shield Kat and Dean, as Cas throws his head back, a scream of rage emanating from his very core. He shoves his grace out with force, every demon in the room falling to the floor, dead.

Gabriel picks up Kat and flies, Cas cradles Dean in his arms and follows.


	16. Katelyn

"Kat?" It's Gabe. "Kat, answer me, can you hear me?" 

"Gabe?" she whispers. _What happened?_ She opens her eye. They're in the mountain lodge. 

"Yes, sweetie." He touches her temple just as she looks at him. 

Her vision clears, the double vision solidifying into one. She can feel the swelling retreating from her other eye. The pain in her ribs subsides, the aching in her stiff joints fades. She feels strange tugging and pulling sensations on her shin and calf as muscle and skin knit back together. The feeling returns to her hands and feet, they feel warm. She raises her hand, watching the deep purple discoloration fade. She sees the redness on her arms then, covering her bare skin. She looks down and she's coated in wet blood.

"Where did all this blood come from?!" She knows it can't be hers, but she feels a little panicky and totally grossed out by it anyway. 

Gabriel pulls his hand away from her head, pulling her face up to look into her eyes. His gold eyes are shining, he doesn't look away. 

"I couldn't find you," he says. He pulls her into his lap, holding her tight in his arms. He rocks back and forth, and she wraps her arms around him. 

"I'm ok, thank God you found me. Where's Dean?" She pulls back, looking into his face again. "Where is he? Is he ok? I think I saw him, it had to be him-"

"Shhh, it's ok, Cas will bring him." He holds her face again, resting his forehead to hers. "Dammit, I was scared to death." He kisses her and she notices that her split lip is healed. 

"Whose blood is this?" She asks again. It's sticky; she feels it when she bends her arms. 

"The demon that was choking you. And the other one. You wanted to rip his guts out, I heard that distinctly, so I obliged." He doesn't think of this as an abnormal statement. 

She fights a wave of nausea. "Were the humans still alive? Did you kill the people they were possessing too?" Oh God, if he says yes she'll throw up, even with no food in her stomach. 

"No, they were long gone, don't worry about that. They were literally meat suits." He kisses her again, he won't let go of her. 

"Ok. Ok good. He was a fucking asshole, and so was she." 

Gabriel nods. 

She hears a sound across the room and looks around Gabriel, startled. Cas appears, hovering over a body. He's touching him, running his hands over the face. 

"Dean," Cas says. He's healed everything but Dean still won't respond. "Please speak to me. Dean?" 

Cas touches Dean's mouth. His body had been mutilated, he was almost dead. Cas can't stop touching him, reassuring himself Dean is okay. He's whole. He's alive. 

"Dean, please."

Dean opens his eyes and looks at Cas. His eyes flood with tears. He's naked, exposed, he feels it instantly, but Cas is there, he's _really_ there. Dean sobs. He reaches his hands to Cas' face. 

"I thought I'd never see you again," he traces the line of Cas' jaw, "I'm so sorry." 

Cas kisses him.

"Dean," Kat whispers, tears filling her eyes. The demons had wanted her; Dean was just a play toy. He never should have been there. 

"Give them a minute, sweetie, he's fine." Gabriel kisses her temple. 

"Can you get this blood off of me? It's making me sick." 

He waves his hand and she feels it dry up, disappear. She still feels dirty. She feels unclean. Her skin is crawling.

"Kat?" She hears Dean's voice, it cracks and breaks.

"I'm here, Dean," she says, she manages to hold herself together. She wants to cry, but she's not going to let herself yet. 

"How you doin' over there, Dean-o? You ok?" Gabriel calls out. 

She can see Cas still leaning over him, Dean bending his knee. He coughs, clears his throat. "Yeah... I'm ok." His voice breaks again on the final word. 

She feels like her heart is breaking too. She wants to go over to him, but she knows Gabriel is right. He needs time with Cas right now, she'll hug Dean later. Gabriel looks at her in understanding.

"We're gonna get cleaned up," he says in the direction of Cas and Dean. Neither responds.


	17. Dean

"I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you, Dean, I'm so sorry," Cas whispers against Dean's mouth, "I heard you, I heard you pray, I could _feel_ you, but you were lost." Cas slides his hands over Dean's ribs. 

"I shouldn't have prayed, she wanted me to pray, I don't know why. I tried so hard not to but she broke me, Cas. I was weak, it's my fault, I'm sorry." 

"None of this is your fault, you're not weak," Cas watches Dean, his eyes are closed, his face contorted in pain. It's emotional pain now, not physical. Cas can't fix that. 

"This is not your fault; anyone else would never have survived this. You're strong, Dean. Do you hear me?"

"I should have known it was a trap, I should have seen it coming," Dean shakes his head, "I should have kept Kate safe."

Cas sits on the floor and pulls Dean into his arms, cradling him, trying to comfort him. 

"You couldn't have known, no one saw this coming. Katelyn is safe now. She's healed, she's fine. It's okay." 

Dean relaxes against Cas, resting his head to Cas' chest. "Don't let me go, please, don't ever let me go." 

Cas rocks back and forth. "Never, Dean. I will never let you go."


	18. Katelyn

Gabriel carries Kate to a large bathroom. There's tub in the floor that looks like five people could fit in it easily. He sets her on a log bench. 

"Does Sam know what happened?" she asks. 

"Yes, he was there, Molly too. They were fighting outside the building; they hadn't made it inside before we pulled you two out though. You should call him. I'll run some water." He hands her a cell phone from his pocket. 

"Hello?!" Sam picks up on the first ring, voice frantic.

"Hey, Sam, it's Kat, are you and Molly okay? Where are you?" She's barely holding on, fighting the tears from breaking through.

"Kat! Are you ok? Where's Dean? Is he ok?" He can't control the panic in his voice. Kat is going to lose it.

"He's ok, Sam, he's with Cas. I'm ok."

"Thank God, I was so worried. We're fine; we had an angel bring us back to the bunker. Are you coming? When's Dean coming home?" 

"Soon, okay? I promise." And then it's like a dam breaks. She can't say anything more; her chest is too tight, tears pouring out. She leans forward trying to catch her breath.

Gabriel pulls the phone away. "They're fine Sam, they're safe. We'll see you soon." He hangs up.   
He picks her up again, knowing she won't be able to walk. Their clothes disappear and he steps down into the tub with her, holding her sideways in his lap in the steaming water. He rubs her arms, her back, just holds her. He knows she has to let it go so he just waits. 

It takes a while, but eventually her sobs start to subside. The relief starts to set in. She hadn't allowed herself to really grasp the situation she'd been in when it was happening. Now she's overwhelmed by it. 

Gabe keeps touching her shin, sliding his hand around her calf. He doesn't seem to notice he's doing it. It's like he's reassuring himself that she's ok in some small way. Kat wonders if he knew it when the hound gripped her leg, if he felt it before she woke up from the dream. 

"Yeah, honey, I did," he whispers. 

She hates the thought of him knowing when it happened. He rubs her shin. She takes a deep breath, lies back, letting the water rush over her face and hair. She stays like that, submerged, for several seconds, finally feeling like the grime is coming off. She sits up in his arms again and relaxes a little more.

"What happened, Gabe?" she finally says. She needs to know what this was all about.

He waits a long time before he answers, just rubbing her leg. She knows he'll tell her, so she's patient. Finally he sighs, meets her eyes. 

"They wanted me, you were the bait." He runs his fingers through her wet hair. 

"How did they get me without you knowing?" She hates to ask this but she needs an answer. He looks angry, his eyes harden. 

"You were with Dean, I felt you in the car, in the sun, content. I pulled back a little; I could feel you were fine. Then I saw you at the gas station. A few minutes later I searched for you and it was blank. There was nothing. I went straight to Cas. I've tried to tell him, I've told him a million times, it doesn't matter if Dean's a hunter. Even though he's a good hunter, you have to watch him. But Dean wants _privacy_. What for?" 

He shakes his head in disgust, his face still hard, and then goes on.

"If Cas had been watching, he'd have known. By the time he searched for Dean you both were gone. We were at the gas station a minute later, the cashier was dead behind the counter and the Impala was sitting at the gas pump with the door open. And then the search started." 

"Please don't blame Dean. Or Cas either," Kat says, and watches for his reaction. 

"I don't, sweetie. But I want to. I want to blame anyone and everyone, but I can't blame anyone but myself." He looks right at her as he says this, hurt and fear showing in his eyes.

" _What_? What are you talking about?" She doesn't like where this is going. 

"If you weren't with me you would never be in danger, love. You were in that position because of _me_. I can't blame anyone by myself." He's still rubbing her leg.

She shakes her head. No. He promised her. He promised her he wouldn't let her go. New tears fill her eyes. This sounds like the beginning of a break up.

"Oh no kitten, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me. You're gonna be seriously sick of me though, because I'm never leaving you alone, ever again." He kisses her softly, pulling her face in close with his hands. She wraps her arms around his head. Her arms are wet and dripping, getting his hair wet, her fingers playing in the curls at the back of his neck. 

She needs to know the whole story. He can sense that, he goes on. 

"I heard you pray, I heard it every time, but it was bouncing around. One second you sounded like you were one place, the next like a totally different direction. It made no sense. Cas wasn't having much luck either. Dean was unconscious a lot, but when he wasn't... It was bad, Kat. Cas was desperate." His voice is soft, but it goes a little ragged when he talks about Cas. He shakes his head like he's denying it happened. 

"I came to you in that dream, it was only for a second but I felt that Hellhound grab your leg. I knew, I..." He breaks. He pulls her tight against him, like a vice. 

She tightens her arms around him. They take their time, both knowing this will all come out. The story will be told. They don't have to hurry. Finally, he kisses her neck.

"I got that image. That symbol, you know? It was blurry, I could tell something was wrong with your eyes. But I knew exactly what it was. I hadn't seen it in... A couple thousand years maybe? They were using it to confuse me. When you would pray and it would travel up, that symbol would throw it somewhere else. The prayer would still get to me, but not until it'd been diverted somewhere else." 

She nods. She had no idea what that symbol was, but she imagines it like a cell phone signal. The symbol made the prayer signal jump from tower to tower. He nods back at her, agreeing.

"You said they were southern, that gave us something to go on too. So we started poking around, with demon blades, in sensitive places, if you know what I mean. We finally narrowed down where we thought you were, but we couldn't just bust down the door. As much as I wanted to, I knew it was a trap. We went in slowly, at the rear of the building and moved forward. We were being shuttled like cattle to the slaughter, but what could we do? When we got in that room, after I ripped that hound in half, I wanted to jump to you, but they lit the oil. I don't understand how they thought any of it would work, it was so stupid. They wouldn't know what to do with my grace if they had it. Idiots."

The anger is back, his eyes sparking. He's sliding his hand under her calf. He looks at her and his eyes flash.

"I ripped them to pieces, Kat, the two who hurt you. I gutted them, and I'll do it again if you're ever threatened."

Her hair stands up and she shivers. She's never feared him, but he's told her before that she should. She doesn't care. 

"I covered your eyes when Cas smited them. I've never seen anything like it, it was viscous. And then he went straight to Dean." He's watching her, listening in her head. 

She can't rejoice in what he's saying, she doesn't take comfort in it. But she's certainly not crying over dead demons. He nods, satisfied. 

"I don't understand though, if they were so stupid why were there so many demons jumping all over this plan? Why would demons blindly follow this plan unless they were assured it would work?"

His face relaxes, the hardness fading away. He smiles with his eyes. "You're too smart, kitten. You haven't been out of there more than an hour and you're already trying to figure out their plan. Most humans would still be a puddle on the floor." He slides his hand up her thigh.

She shakes her head, she hasn't figured anything out. She was just thinking out loud.

"You're right, they wouldn't have followed unless they'd been reassured by someone, or _something_ , really high up that it would work. These demons were expendable. They were a distraction, to keep us from seeing what was really going on." 

"Metatron." It makes sense. He nods at her. "So what was really going on?"

"I don't know. I'll put Sam and Molly on that." He slides his other hand slowly down her back. 

"We need to go back and look around." She moves like she's going to stand and he pulls her back. 

"We're not going anywhere. Not for a while. I've already put the word out on angel radio, it's being looked into." He rubs her back again, hand sliding up to her neck to massage the muscles. 

Kat relaxes into his touch. "How is Dean? Is he okay?" 

She sees Gabriel's wings shimmer for a second. 

"Come on, let's go check on him." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, they're moving around. Let's go see ole Dean-o, okay?" 

She nods, "I love you." 

"I know, kitten, I love you too."


	19. Dean

Once the crying stopped, once the shaking settled, once it was just him and Cas, _alone_ , Dean starts to panic. He tells Cas he needs to go to the bathroom, but it's a lie. He just needs to be alone for a second.

He's wandering around naked in some huge wooden house. He ducks into a bedroom and finds a dresser. He pulls the drawers open wondering whose clothes these are. He grabs a pair of sweats, they're too big but they're drawstring so he cinches them around his waist. 

As he walks back toward the living room he sees Kate and Gabriel. They're standing there, they look so calm. Gabriel has his arms wrapped around her from behind; and as they're looking out the window, massive golden wings rise from Gabriel's back. Dean is in awe. 

He moves forward and Cas stands as he enters the room. Gabriel's wings vanish.

"Where were you?" Cas asks. 

"Uh, I raided a dresser along the way. Figured I needed something to wear. Who lives here?" He looks around, his eyes moving back to Kate and Gabriel. 

Kat walks over to Dean, sliding her arms around his back. He embraces her stiffly. He doesn't really want to be touched. Every time something touches him he has a hard time not feeling it as pain. 

_How is she so calm?_ Dean feels like there's a storm rising inside him.

She looks up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. You okay?" What did she go through? Did they torture her too? 

/i>Oh god, please no. 

"I'm fine, you sure you're okay? You look like you just saw a ghost. You're so pale." She kisses his cheek. 

It makes him wince, he can't help it.

"Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?" She looks so concerned, scared. 

"No, I'm fine, really. Cas fixed me all up," Dean fakes a smile, he steps away from her, "you ready?" 

He looks at Cas. 

"Are you leaving?" Kate looks confused.

"Yeah, I wanna get back and talk to Sammy, check on Baby, get back to work. No rest for the weary," he tries to laugh, it's forced and fake, "anyway, Cas?"

Cas walks to him. Dean wants to move away.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_

"Ok, we'll be there soon. You take care of yourself, okay?" 

Dean isn't acting right, this is not right and Kate knows it. She looks at Cas. 

_Cas._

He meets her eyes, she feels Gabriel's hand on her lower back. 

_Something isn't right with Dean, take care of him._

Cas turns to Dean. He very slowly places his hand on Dean's shoulder and waits for Dean to nod, and then they disappear.

She turns toward Gabriel. 

"He said he knows, kitten. He knows something isn't right," he wraps his arms around her as she cries again, "it's okay. I got you."


	20. Epilogue

A day and a half, that's all they get. Gabriel had asked for time with Kat, a do not disturb, so to speak. They spend a day and a half in the lodge, trying to recuperate from what they went through. That's when Sam calls, Metatron has been captured. He was 25 miles from where Kat and Dean were held. Kat and Dean were nothing but a distraction for his real purpose. He performed a ritual that would have leveled the area, it _should_ have leveled a 5,000 mile radius, but it didn't. No one knows why. 

They had him now though. It took 20 angels to contain him, the same 20 who fought to save Kat and Dean, and they wanted to take him to Heaven. Sam had refused. They weren't taking him to Heaven, Sam had been adamant, and Sam was a force to be reckoned with when he made his mind up. So Metatron is chained in the basement of the bunker, and Gabriel wants answers. They all do. 

And so they leave the comfort and safety of the lodge, a comfort and safety they so desperately need at the time, and they return to the bunker. They return to war. They return to their family, to broken and angry Dean, and worried Cas. To Sam and Molly, terrified watching Dean fester and rage. They return to Metatron, an angel with a heart so black it rivaled Lucifer's.


End file.
